Slow and steady may win the race, but slow then sprint won the championship.
Baseball, after a less-than-stellar preseason, kicked into high gear for Ivy League play — just in time to capture the Gehrig division title for the sixth straight year and earn a spot in the Ivy League Championship series.
At the start of the season, things did not look quite so promising. Princeton went 4-13 in the preseason. But when Ivy League play started against Yale, things turned around quickly. The Tigers hit the ground running, going 14-6 in regular season Ivy play to secure the Gehrig Division title.
The tough times were far from over. Even with ownership of the Gehrig Division settled, the Tigers had to face their biggest challenge — a rematch of last year's Ivy League Championship series against Dartmouth.
After dropping the first game, 6-5, in a best-of-three competition in Hanover, N.H., Princeton knew it was in a door-die situation. Sean McNally '01 led the effort in the next game, hitting the first homerun of his career in the seventh inning to bring in three runs.
McNally repeated the feat in the eighth inning to give the Tigers an insurmountable 11-6 lead.
The next day's game was winner-take-all. Either Dartmouth or Princeton was going to go home the Ivy League Champions.
Down by one in the bottom of the ninth, Jon Watterson '01 doubled for an RBI to tie the game at 5-5 and send it into extra innings. The Princeton pitching staff held down Dartmouth's offense to keep the score tied heading into the bottom of the 10th inning.
With two outs, Steve Young '04's single drove Mickey Martin '01 home with a single and handed the Tigers their second consecutive Ivy League Championship, 6-5.
With its sixth consecutive Gehrig Division and second consecutive Ivy League title in hand, the Tigers earned a trip to the NCAA Regionals, where they took on the top-seeded and 12th-ranked team in the country, Central Florida.
Despite a history of success in the Ivy League, the Tigers were looking to break with their tradition in the NCAA tournament. Princeton was 1-12 all-time in NCAA tournament games, and had not won since 1965.
In its first game of the double-elimination tournament May 25, Princeton nearly broke through against Central Florida. The Knights decided to rest their ace pitcher, instead sending the third man in their rotation. The Tigers almost made them pay dearly for the gamble. Princeton put up 22 hits and 12 runs, but eventually fell to the Knights, 13-12, in 12 innings. Facing elimination the next day, David Boehle '03 pitched a complete game against the Citadel in Game 2, helping the Tigers to an 11-6 victory. Later that day, Princeton was eliminated by the nation's 24th-ranked team, South Carolina.
Pitcher Ryan Quillian '03, who battled the Knights in Game 1, was a huge contributor to the success of the season. A 6-3 record earned him recognition as Ivy League Pitcher of the Year, the first Princetonian to win the award in its 24-year history. Quillian was also named Second Team All-State. Shortstop Pat Boran '02 was named second team All-Ivy League. Boran and Quillian will both be back next season to help form the core of Princeton's lineup.
However, not all of this year's stars will be heading back to campus next fall. Eight seniors will graduate from the team, including first baseman Andrew Hanson '01, rightfielder Max Krance '01 and centerfielder Martin, all of whom were named second team All-Ivy.
Though this may leave the team short an important part of its lineup, head coach Scott Bradley will be back to guide the team.
Princeton baseball should have a familiar look next year: a solid regular season followed by an Ivy League title. Business as usual.
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